You are here

Today's News - Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Burglars targeted the South Fork and Summerhill Borough volunteer fire departments plus the Summerhill municipal building over the weekend. Now Cambria County Crimestoppers is offering a reward for information leading to arrests. In South Fork, the doors were smashed in and the thieves stole radios and a TV along with several other items. Down the road at the Summerhill Fire Department, the suspects damaged the doors, but couldn’t get in. They went next door and stole tools from the municipal building. They also caused thousands of dollars in damage. If you have any information, call police at 1-800-281-1680.

-0-

Another home invasion robbery in Johnstown. Police say three men with guns burst into a home along the 200 block of Laurel Avenue Saturday evening demanding money. No one was hurt and the suspects got away. A similar incident happened in January, but police have not confirmed if they are connected.

-0-

A preliminary hearing date is scheduled today for 56-year-old Russell Shick of Beccaria Township, Clearfield County. He’s charged with firing several gunshots into George’s Bar in Dysart back in October, after being kicked out of the tavern. Robert Edgar Jr. of Coalport was shot in the hip. Shick claims the incident “escalated” after someone pulled a knife on him in the bar earlier in the evening.

-0-

After thousands of concerts, professional bull riding, monster trucks, Big 10 basketball, motocross, WWE wrestling and the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus, the 19-year-old Bryce Jordan Center will close for roof and floor repairs after spring commencement on May 10, and it won’t reopen until summer commencement August 16. According to the “Centre Daily Times,” it’s estimated the maintenance will cost around $4.5 million. The last non-Penn State events on the schedule before closing are the Jason Aldean show May 2 and a show by comedian Bill Maher the following night.

-0-

President Obama will be touting the economy today when he visits a supermarket chain's distribution center in suburban Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden will be in the St. Louis suburbs to mark the fifth anniversary of a nearly $800 billion stimulus bill Obama signed into law shortly after taking office. The White House claims the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act boosted the economy and helped avoid another Great Depression.

-0-

A move to ban same-sex marriage in Indiana is going forward in the state's legislature. The Indiana Senate approved a proposed amendment to the state's constitution on Monday that would prohibit same-sex marriage in the state.

-0-

An Arkansas man is being charged with first degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed a girl who had egged his car. Police say Willie Noble came out of his Little Rock home and opened fire as five teenagers egged his car over the weekend.

-0-

Scientists now have the first biological test for clinical depression. Researchers call this development a breakthrough that will help identify and treat depression at an earlier stage.

-0-

The latest major winter storm is hitting the Northeast, after dumping more than half a foot of snow across the Upper Midwest on Monday. The storm's packing snow and winds up to 30 miles an hour as it rolls into western Pennsylvania and western New York today. Snowy roads will slow traffic throughout the Northeast and the storm could lead to more canceled flights.

-0-

Severe turbulence as a United Airlines flight was descending Monday into the Billings, Montana airport leaves several people injured. An FAA spokesman says the captain of United Flight 1676 had to declare a medical emergency after a flight attendant was injured by the turbulence.

-0-

A Tulsa, Oklahoma compounding pharmacy says it will no longer provide a drug to the state of Missouri that's used in executions. The Apothecary Shoppe is facing growing pressure from the attorneys for a Missouri inmate scheduled to die by lethal injection on February 26th.

-0-

Stocks will head into the trading day after two straight weeks of gains and a day off on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday. The year started rough for Wall Street but has been in rebound mode lately. Last week the Nasdaq reached its highest level in nearly a decade-and-a-half.

-0-

Astronomers are buzzing about an asteroid that raced past Earth. The asteroid is estimated to be the size of three football fields. Slooh Space Camera tracked the approach of the asteroid as it sped past the planet at about 27,000 miles-per-hour Monday night.

-0-

Those self-tying "power laces" in "Back to the Future 2" will become a reality next year. Quoting Nike designer Tinker Hatfield, the website Sole Collector says the sneaker giant will unveil the laces in 2015. -0- A school district in New Jersey could be the first in the nation to use a software app to report bullying. Kenilworth Superintendent Scott Taylor says starting this week, an app called "STOPit" will be activated for students to anonymously report cyber-bullying.

-0-

It's a new era for NBC's "Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon as host. On Monday, Jimmy opened up "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" by thanking the five previous regular hosts of the late night program. Monday also marked the show's return to New York after being filmed in Burbank, California for over 40 years.

-0-

Pennsylvania residents are buying up Powerball tickets as the jackpot continues to grow. The 400-million dollar prize is said to be the Powerball’s fourth-largest jackpot and the sixth largest in lottery history. The cash value of the winnings would be $227 million.